📖 Meaning
This idiom describes working or exerting oneself day and night without interruption. It conveys relentless, round-the-clock effort sustained over an extended period. The emphasis is on endurance spanning both daylight and dark hours.
📜 Origin Story
This is a classical Chinese compound phrase with no single literary source attributed to it. It is formed by combining 弥日 (filling the days, i.e., all day long) with 累夜 (accumulated nights, i.e., successive nights), a parallel structure common in classical Chinese. Such binomial constructions were widely used in scholarly and official contexts to describe diligent labor. It appears in various historical commentaries and essays where authors praised tireless dedication.
💡 Example Usage
为完成这部著作，他弥日累夜地伏案写作。
To finish this work, he wrote at his desk day and night without rest.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 弥日累夜
- Pinyin: mí rì lèi yè
- Literal Translation: continuous days, accumulated nights
- Category: Perseverance
- Characters: 4